> I'm not ecstactic myself about this Iowa vote. However, I must take
> note of this one small positive about the US politics even in the
depths of Reaganism. Somehow a bunch of white people voted for a Black
person
> for president. It's a tiny good thing in a sea of trouble.
Wendy Lyon: In the depths of *literal* Reaganism (1988) Jesse Jackson won eleven primaries, including Vermont, which is even whiter than Iowa. That was a good thing, but it didn't seem to change very much.
^^^^ CB: Not only that. I bet that Obama will lose in New Hampshire and other primaries and won't get the nomination - because racism is still strong in America. Hope I'm wrong, but gotta keep it real.
My brother pointed out that the Iowa Caucuses are public voting, so people are pressured to demonstrate their self-proclaimed color-blindness. In New Hampshire, with secret ballot, people can more readily vote against the Black candidate without anybody knowing. We'll see.
Actually, Reaganism is not to be tied to the personality Reagan. We are at a lower point of Reaganism now than in 1988. Part of the evidence of that is the fact you adduce: Jesse Jackson won several primaries. Notice Jackson had a "Rainbow" , i.e. colorblind type,message too. Let's put it this way. We are further from the reforms of the sixties and seventies, and further into the counter-reforms of the 80's, 90's and 00's than we were in 88.